Dealing with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) isn't easy, but the stress (and the symptoms) involved may be lessened with mindfulness meditation. Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have presented a study showing that women with irritable bowel syndrome were able to reduce their symptoms by 38 percent with mindfulness meditation compared to only a 12 percent reduction for women who took part in a support group. The study involved 75 women between the ages of 19 and 71 (average age about 43) who were randomly divided into two groups. For eight weeks, one group took part in mindfulness meditation training sessions while the others attended meetings of a traditional support group. After eight weeks, the severity of symptoms had dropped by 26.4 percent in the mindfulness meditation group and by only 6.2 percent in the women in the support group. At the three month mark, the reduction of symptoms had improved to 38.2 percent in the mindfulness meditation group and to 11.8 percent in women in the support group. The findings were presented on May 7, 2011 during Digestive Disease Week.
My take? Mindfulness is the technique of bringing all of our awareness to the here and now, to the immediate sensations in our bodies and our breathing, for example, rather than letting much of it slip away in contemplation of the past and future or of other subjects that are not present. The assumption is that when we act with full awareness, our actions are more likely to achieve what we intend, and that when we feel with full awareness, we are more likely to feel fulfilled. Many studies have found that meditation has a beneficial effect on health. It can relieve mental and physical stress and, by extension, help with common stress-related illnesses, including IBS.
More on mind/body treatment for IBS.
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